Question about wiring parallel water heaters

[palmettoinspect]

Is there ever a set up that allows parallel water heaters to share an electrical circuit? I've never seen this before and came across it the other day. Every parallel or series set up I've seen each water heater has their own circuits. This set up has one circuit/wire jumped to the other water heater?

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[plummen]

They must have small elents in those heaters,Or the stats are turned way down.

The whole set up looks like trash to me anyway.

[Marc]

The setting of the thermostats has nothing to do with it.

Small elements, like you say, whose sum (just the larger of the two elements in each heater) does not exceed 5,760 watts.

Even then, I'm not sure it's kosher, just functional.

Marc

[plummen]

Well if the stats are turned down really low on 1 or the other it wont run as much anyway,less load on the electrical system.

Not really efficient either.

Ive seen people do weirder things,too many people watching you tube videos ,Learning to do really stupid things

[Marc]

Well if the stats are turned down really low on 1 or the other it wont run as much anyway,less load on the electrical system.

Not really efficient either.

Ive seen people do weirder things,too many people watching you tube videos ,Learning to do really stupid things

It'll run less, yes, because the standby losses are less when the tank is cooler.

But run it will and the power draw is the same when it does run.

In other words, the thermostat does not modulate the wattage drawn by the elements.

Marc

[John Kogel]

The wiring coming from the panel is undersized for that load, so it is dead wrong, no matter what.

He may have upsized the breaker to prevent nuisance tripping, or set the elements so they are never on together, but that won't prevent the new owner from changing things back.